Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Phil Bryant's Position Is Getting Lonelier

In a radio interview yesterday morning, Governor Phil Bryant said that his fellow 29 Republican governors are standing strong in their efforts to fight Obamacare. A problem with Bryant's argument is that it is not true.

In recent months, Republican governors across the country have worked to offer health insurance options for thousands of working Americans. Most recently, Republican governors in Pennsylvania and Tennessee (who also have Republican-led legislatures) are laying the groundwork to broaden their states' Medicaid eligibility. Even Florida's Republican governor unsuccessfully tried to expand Medicaid in his state.

This now means that Republican governors in Arizona, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have agreed to provide additional health care options for their states. Republican governors in Indiana, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming are still ironing out the specifics on their own version of expansion.

The well-known Republican governor of New Jersey was quoted as saying “We expanded Medicaid, because we believe that folks are better off going to see physicians and having care than going to emergency rooms all the time." And this guy may want to run as a Republican for President of the United States?!

Phil Bryant can beat his chest and talk a big game on talk radio, but at the end of the day, his misguided position is still bad policy with life-threatening consequences. This is the Republican Party he's fighting for.


1 comment:

kennelgirl said...

This is good news but I think the map needs a fourth color to reflect the states referenced in the article that are currently in the process of expanding or creating their own form of the ACA.